For decades, Ruth Chew's chapter books about matter-of-fact magic have enchanted early readers. Now a new generation of fantasy fans can discover the magic in these Stepping Stones books.

What should be in a book about magic? Pirates? Merlin? Becoming tiny? Time travel? A giant? How about all of the above?

In The Wishing Tree, The Magic Coin, and The Magic Cave, magical adventures lie around every corner. From a coin that becomes a boat and a backyard pool that becomes an ocean, to a cave that leads to another land, it's anchors away to fun!

Ruth Chew has a remarkable way of turning the average day into a fantastic voyage. Here are three of her best tales that will capture the imagination of any reader who is willing to take a little risk.

Working as a fashion artist, she started writing stories about witches for the youngest of her five children. The first of these, The Wednesday Witch, was a big hit, and her new career was born. Ruth Chew went on to write 29 tales of magic and fantasy that have enchanted generations of readers.RUTH CHEW was born in Minneapolis and studied at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C.